ProSave Cannot Connect to Siemens HMI: PN/IE vs Ethernet Fix

Symptom: ProSave reports a connection failure when attempting to load a WinCC add-on (for example, the Printer Driver PDF V1.4) onto a Comfort Panel (SIMATIC HMI TP700 Comfort / TP1200 Comfort), even though the engineering station successfully pings the panel IP. Selecting the connection type Ethernet silently fails. Selecting PN/IE succeeds. This article documents the root cause, the correct parameter selection, the TIA Portal alternative workflow, the maintenance-mode fallback, and the USB-install path for the add-on itself.

1. Problem Description

An engineer wants to install a WinCC add-on (commonly the Printer Driver PDF) onto a Comfort Panel using the standalone ProSave tool. Symptoms:

• Engineering station and panel are on the same subnet. No IP conflict. No managed switch ACL or VLAN tagging in the path.
• ping <panel IP> returns replies with sub-millisecond latency. Network layer 3 is healthy.
• Launching ProSave (Start → Siemens Automation → ProSave, or the ProSave executable inside the TIA Portal install tree) and configuring a transfer operation fails with one of the following conditions:
  • The connection dialog closes with no dialog, no error, no log entry.
  • ProSave reports "Connection not established", "Cannot connect to device", or "Timeout".
  • ProSave hangs on "Establishing connection..." for 30-60 s and then times out.
• Switching the Connection type field between Ethernet, PN/IE, and USB produces the same timeout.
• The HMI Transfer channel is enabled in the Control Panel (Settings → Transfer / MPI / PROFIBUS / PROFINET → Permit → checkbox on). The Enable Transfer checkbox is set.

The combination of a successful ping and a ProSave-level timeout is the diagnostic fingerprint of this issue.

2. Root Cause: PROFINET IO vs. S7 Transport

Comfort Panels expose two parallel transfer endpoints that ProSave can target:

The Printer Driver PDF V1.4 add-on and most WinCC Comfort/Advanced add-ons are deployed as PROFINET-aware runtime packages. ProSave negotiates the transfer using the S7-TSAP handshake over the PROFINET channel. When the operator selects the generic Ethernet connection type, ProSave attempts to push the package over the legacy HTTP/automation service, which does not advertise the add-on loader endpoint. The HMI panel accepts the TCP session but does not respond to the loader READ_SZL/PI_SERVICE request, ProSave times out, and the failure is silent because the connection state machine does not log to the operator.

Switching to PN/IE forces ProSave onto the PROFINET transport, which the panel's loader service is registered against. The handshake completes within a few seconds and the add-on transfer begins.

3. Solution A: Select PN/IE in ProSave

The fastest fix is the one-line parameter change inside the standalone ProSave dialog.

3.1 Prerequisites

• ProSave version matching the TIA Portal that built the project (e.g., ProSave 15.0.0.0 for TIA V15, ProSave 17.0.0.0 for TIA V17). Mismatched versions can produce identical silent failures.
• Comfort Panel with PROFINET interface enabled and an IP address in the same subnet as the engineering station.
• Windows firewall rule allowing outbound TCP 102 and the dynamic RPC range 49152-65535 to the panel IP. Siemens installer normally adds these rules during the TIA Portal setup.

3.2 Step-by-step

1. Open ProSave from Start → Siemens Automation → ProSave (or via the TIA Portal install tree at C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\Portal V<V>\Bin\ProSave.exe).
2. In the left pane, choose the device family that matches the panel: Panels → Comfort Panels → TP1200 Comfort (or TP700 Comfort).
3. In the Connection group, set the Connection type dropdown to PN/IE. Do not select Ethernet.
4. Set the PG/PC interface to the network adapter that is physically connected to the panel subnet (e.g., Intel(R) Ethernet Connection ...). Avoid virtual adapters, VPN TAP interfaces, and the Hyper-V default switch.
5. Set HMI address to the panel's PROFINET IP (e.g., 192.168.0.10).
6. Leave Access point at S7ONLINE unless a custom access point is mandatory.
7. Click Connect. Expect a green status within 5-10 s.
8. Navigate to the Options → Load add-on / Install software tab. Browse to the add-on package (e.g., Printer_Driver_PDF_V1.4.exe or the extracted .zip from the Siemens support download).
9. Click Load. ProSave transfers the package; the panel reboots automatically. Total time 2-5 minutes.
10. Verify the add-on is registered: on the panel, open Control Panel → Add-ons and confirm the Printer Driver PDF entry shows version 1.4.

4. Solution B: Drive ProSave from TIA Portal

If the project was built in TIA Portal, the ProSave features are accessible from inside TIA. This is the supported path in TIA V14 and later and removes the standalone ProSave dialog entirely.

4.1 Prerequisites

• TIA Portal (Comfort/Advanced/Professional) installed at the same version as ProSave.
• The target Comfort Panel device is configured inside the TIA project with its PROFINET IP.

4.2 Step-by-step

1. Open the TIA Portal project that contains the Comfort Panel device.
2. In the project tree, right-click the panel device (e.g., HMI_1 [TP1200 Comfort]) and select Load to device (or use the menu Online → Extended download to device).
3. TIA opens the Extended download to device dialog. Confirm the panel's PROFINET interface is selected as the PG/PC interface and the target IP matches the panel.
4. Click Load. The project compiles and transfers. Add-ons referenced by the project are pushed automatically.
5. For add-on-only transfers (such as Printer Driver PDF) without recompiling the project, use Online → HMI device maintenance → Install add-on. The dialog reuses the same TIA-engineered connection profile; ProSave runs as a child process and inherits the correct transport settings.

Calling ProSave from inside TIA guarantees the PN/IE transport is selected and that the access point and PG/PC interface are consistent with the project. This is the recommended path for reproducible add-on deployment.

5. Solution C: Maintenance Mode Reset

If the panel's runtime is in a state where it cannot accept transfer requests (corrupt add-on, frozen transfer service, locked loader), bring the panel into maintenance mode via ProSave and retry.

5.1 Procedure

1. In ProSave (with PN/IE selected per Section 3), connect to the panel.
2. Navigate to the Operating system update / Reset tab.
3. Click Reboot in maintenance mode. The HMI device restarts and the Maintenance Mode dialog appears for 10 minutes.
4. Within the 10-minute window, repeat the add-on load (Section 3, step 8-9). Maintenance mode bypasses the runtime and exposes the loader service directly.

For a full factory reset of the panel from maintenance mode, see the official TIA Portal Cloud documentation: Resetting an HMI device to factory settings via ProSave.

6. Solution D: USB-Stick Install Path

ProSave is for backup and restore images and for loader-level add-on deployment over the network. For a simpler, network-free install of a runtime add-on, the panel's USB port can be used directly. This is useful when the engineering station cannot reach the panel at layer 2/3 (e.g., remote site, no crossover cable available).

6.1 Procedure

1. Extract the add-on package to the root of a FAT32-formatted USB stick. The expected layout depends on the add-on; the Printer Driver PDF package ships with a setup.conf and a firmware directory.
2. Power off the Comfort Panel.
3. Insert the USB stick into the panel's USB port.
4. Power on the panel. The loader detects the package and prompts to install.
5. Confirm. The panel installs the add-on and reboots.

The USB path is independent of ProSave, the PG/PC interface, and the transport selection. Use it as the fallback whenever the network path is misbehaving.

7. ProSave vs. TIA Portal: Capability Boundary

ProSave and the TIA Portal transfer dialogs share an underlying loader, but the user-visible feature set differs. Pick the right tool for the operation.

Operationally, treat ProSave as the image-tool and TIA Portal as the project tool. Add-ons sit in the overlap; either tool can deploy them, but TIA Portal is the supported path for TIA-engineered fleets.

8. Field-Proven Diagnostic Matrix

When ProSave fails to connect, walk this matrix before assuming the network is at fault.

9. Verification Checklist

After deploying the add-on with any of the above solutions, run the following checks to confirm a clean install.

1. Add-on registration. On the panel, open Control Panel → System → Add-ons. Confirm Printer Driver PDF is listed with version 1.4.0 (or the expected version) and status Installed.
2. Loader log. In ProSave, open View → Event log for the most recent transfer. Look for a Transfer completed successfully line and a Reboot requested line. No ERROR or WARN entries should be present.
3. Project-side integration. In TIA Portal, open the HMI project, navigate to Runtime settings → Print jobs. The configured print job should now show the PDF printer as available.
4. Functional test. Trigger a print job from the runtime (e.g., print an audit log). Verify a PDF file is produced on the configured network share or USB storage.
5. Panel health. Ping the panel again. Confirm it is reachable post-reboot. The transfer should not have changed the IP, but a brief period of ARP flux during reboot is normal.

10. Common Misconceptions

• "If ping works, ProSave will work." False. Ping confirms layer 3 only. The S7/loader transport runs on TCP 102 plus dynamic RPC ports and can be blocked while ICMP remains open.
• "ProSave can install any add-on to any HMI." False. ProSave is built around the image backup/restore flow. Add-on install is supported, but project-level downloads are TIA-only. The user-facing ProSave help does not call out the TIA limitation explicitly.
• "Switching to USB fixes everything." Partially true. The USB port handles add-on and firmware updates. It does not handle image backup/restore and does not handle project downloads.
• "Maintenance mode is only for OS updates." False. Maintenance mode exposes the loader service and is the correct state for any loader-level operation, including add-on install on a frozen runtime.

11. Preventive Recommendations

• Document the connection type per panel class. Add a column to the panel commissioning sheet with the required ProSave connection type. Comfort Panels and Unified Comfort Panels use PN/IE for add-on transfer; older Multi Panels and Basic Panels vary.
• Pin ProSave to the TIA Portal version. Co-install ProSave and TIA Portal at the same version. Mixing ProSave V15 with a TIA V16 project produces intermittent loader failures that look like network problems.
• Pre-stage add-on packages locally. Keep Printer_Driver_PDF_V1.4.exe and other add-ons on a local share, with checksums, so transfers do not depend on the Siemens download portal at the time of commissioning.
• Standardize on the TIA Portal transfer path. For fleet rollouts, drive all add-on loads from TIA Portal's Online → HMI device maintenance → Install add-on. This eliminates the standalone ProSave dialog and the connection-type ambiguity.
• Use a maintenance-mode reboot as the universal recovery step. When a panel's loader is stuck, the 10-minute maintenance-mode window is the safest way to recover without a factory reset.

12. Related Manuals and References

• Resetting an HMI device to factory settings via ProSave — TIA Portal Cloud, official Siemens documentation.
• SIMATIC HMI Comfort Panels — Product family page for TP700 / TP900 / TP1200 / TP1500 / TP1900 / TP2200 Comfort Panels.
• WinCC Comfort / Advanced system manual, chapter Transferring projects — covers ProSave usage and PN/IE transport selection.
• SIMATIC HMI Operator Panels Operating Instructions, chapter Commissioning → Transfer (data channel) — covers the panel-side Enable Transfer setting and maintenance-mode entry.

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